The Energon Pub

No, not an illegal Career! I just don't want to be a lawyer.

Hi everyone! My apologies if this is an improper place for a first post, but this isn't just an introduction. I am asking the seibertron community for some help. I recently passed the bar exam and began working for a law firm. To say the least, it is not what I hoped for and certainly not what I want to do for the rest of my life. While I feel lucky to have a job at all in light of how difficult times are for everyone right now, I can't help but start to look into any other options I might have.

I went straight from college to law school, so I never really took time to discover what else I might want to do. I have always been a huge transformers fan (since my borther and I watched the first season of Beast Wars) and feel like the fan community is a very diverse and knowledgeable crowd. Does anyone have a job that they're excited to go to? Are there realistic careers that allow creativity and passion? I like to write and I was a physics major in college. Is there anything out there that would better suit me?

Thanks, and no pressure everyone. We can just discuss the different type of careers people have or what they want to do in the future. I look forward to being a part of the site!

-DinobotPrime

Welcome to the boards.

As for your inquiry, if you're looking for fun at work, it all depends on your personality and what your interests are. Unfortunately I can't give you very serious advice because I am dragging my feet at graduating college and I work at a job I don't like. All I can tell you is pick something that holds your interest thoroughly. Eventually people get bored with everything (except Transformers) so you might get downtime even in your dream job, but the point is to not let it grind you down and wear you out over time, especially if you end up doing it for the rest of your life. However, sounds like you're young enough to sit back and take some time to think about it. Don't make hasty decisions that you might regret. And Beast Wars was an awesome series.

The first 3-7 years of a professional level career are often boring and/or soul crushing. You have limited freedom, limited creativity, and a sense that all the work you did in school to get you into a worthwhile field has been wasted as you are relegated to menial tasks.

The new lesson in the first 5 years of your job is perseverance. After that, a lot more opens up to you.

Hey thanks Rodimus, and you too Counterpunch. Those are good points. I figure I will keep trying my best but also explore other options. I just get too depressed if I picture this being my permanent career.

Does anyone have a job that's fun or interesting? I bet a lot of people here do.

First off,

Congrats in passing you bar exam! I know a few people who really struggled with it!

DinobotPrime wrote:Does anyone have a job that's fun or interesting? I bet a lot of people here do.

I work as a systems admin for an office, warehouse, packing line, and retail store. I work for the largest apple growers in atlantic Canada, so there are a lot of unique challenges that come with it. I would say my job is mostly interesting, and occasionally fun. There is enough variance in that company, that I'm always working on something new. No two days have been the same. I am generally excited about what I do on a daily basis.

Now, saying that, there are still plenty of things I dislike about my job (like my 8:30 meeting tomorrow...). But honestly, having the same job for a while, there's no way you'll love every part of it. Concentrate on the good, rewarding, or fun part rather than the bad.

Also, I trained and worked as a pastry chef for a few years right out of high school. After a few years of working 6 days a week and making little money, I decided this isn't something I could do for the rest of my life. My heart was in it, but it wasn't a solid career choice. So, don't be afraid to make a different career choice late in the game!

DinobotPrime wrote:Does anyone have a job that's fun or interesting? I bet a lot of people here do.

I am 28 and have been relegated to working at WalMart. Definitely not a voluntary career choice, but I have no one to blame but myself.

I also congratulate you on passing the bar, I know people who tried 3 and 4 times, respectively, before they passed. Being a lawyer doesn't sound too bad, but it seems to be a lot of paperwork and staying up late nights trying to finish stuff.

Passing the bar exam and being a lawyer does sound like a lot of work. Kinda like your life revolves around work. I am in my last semester of college myself and have a job i don't really like either. My degree will be in Engineering Technology and it is very interesting and i like it but don't exactly what I want to do with it. And STRONGLY suggest you finish watching beast wars. Its gets even better after season 1.

Thanks for the congratulations Jesterhead and Rodimus Prime. The bar exam was crazy. Even though the test lasted for two days straight I can't even remember any of it. It was just a horrible blur. I'm very happy to be done with it.

I'm sorry to hear the pastry chef career didn't work out, especially if you enjoyed it. But hopefully everything happens for a reason.

That's an impressive degree BeastWarsFTW, there must be something great you can do with it. One of the difficulties I had in not getting a job in an intellectual property firm (I was interested in patents) is that my background is physics, not engineering. Oh, and of course I watched all of Beast Wars! I meant I've been hooked ever since the first season, I never stopped. Sorry for the way I phrased it. Beast Wars is still, and probably will always be, my favorite transformers series.

Well this may sound strange but: massage therapy, you get to choose your own hours, it’s a well paying job and it a bonus if you have good conversation skills, so just a bit of advice for you, just look into it.



P.S. You might want to look into changing the name of this thread, how about "Career help"

Welcome to the boards DinobotPrime and congrats on passing the Bar.
By trade, I'm a custom cabinet finisher. I started off in this field just doing general finish work. Pretty boring assembly line stuff but I stuck with it and just kept learning all that my supervisors were willing to teach me and finally got to the point where I was able to strike out on my own and start doing high-end custom work that was going into million+ dollar homes. There are aspects of it that are tedious and back breaking but it's all worth it once I finish the job and can step back, look at it and say "Damn that looks nice!" I've even incorporated my love of Transformers into some of the personal pieces I've done and made Transformer themed nightstands for my kids with "Autobot" red and "Decepticon" purple side panels with appropriate faction logos on the panels and brushed steel handles on the drawers. It's a great outlet for my artistic side but there is also a lot of thinking and planning that goes into my work and dealing with hazardous chemicals and fumes is a major downside as well as the occasional customer that is near impossible to please.
Once the housing market dropped my business folded and I wound up having to get work wherever I could which means, temporarily, I'm working for a Party Rental company which has actually turned out to be a lot of fun. It's grueling work at times setting up huge events but it keeps me in shape and I've met a lot of great people.

Counter Punch is definitely correct that your first few years are going to be the hardest. It's going to be dry, repetitive and you're going to ask yourself several times "What the heck was I thinking?" but I would advise sticking with it and mastering the basics and then look into other aspects of the field that may hold more appeal. Maybe look into a firm later on that deals with such things as copyright law or entertainment industry legalities. Not representing celebrities, you don't want that kind of personal hell to deal with, but more from a corporate standpoint. It will still be dry compared to a lot of fields out there but it won't have the mundanity of representing the average joe who's p.o.'d at his neighbor because his dog keeps crapping on his lawn and he wants to sue in small claims court instead of dealing with it like a man. This way, all that schooling you went through will pay off for you and maybe someday you'll be living in the kind of home that a guy like me will have put his heart and sweat into to make look freaking awesome. (and yes, if you hit me up later in life when you're rolling in cash, I can help you design a custom Transformers display room with whatever color cabinets/shelves you want. )

Thanks T-Macksimus. Your job sounds very fulfilling with creativity and skill being put to excellent use, and thanks for the good advice.

godzillabot- that's funny you should mention massage therapy. I've actually considered that before. Helping people without too much paperwork would be a nice change of pace. Are you a massage therapist yourself?

DinobotPrime wrote:Thanks T-Macksimus. Your job sounds very fulfilling with creativity and skill being put to excellent use, and thanks for the good advice.

godzillabot- that's funny you should mention massage therapy. I've actually considered that before. Helping people without too much paperwork would be a nice change of pace. Are you a massage therapist yourself?

Well I’m flattered that you thought that I could be a massage therapist but no I’m not, but I’ve got a good friend who has her own massage business and has got a constant income, if I’m ever out of the job I may look into it as a backup job, and you’ll always have customers because no massage chair can replace a good strong pair of hands.

I am a teacher. I love my job when I am teaching (I do not love dealing with parents, admin, and politics).

I have a friend that worked for a law firm in Philadelphia (I think they represented the Eagles). He hated it. He was on-call 24/7. If you were out at midnight and a partner called you to go do some research for them, you had to go do it. He now works for a bank as a legal consultant. He has all the job perks of being a lawyer (huge paycheck) without all the crap (being someone's b@$ch for years until you make partner).

That might be an option for you.

Thanks SJ21. During law school I thought about trying to become a physics teacher instead. I think it would be much more rewarding. Although, my father is a teacher and he definitely shares your lack of enthusiasm for dealing with parents and administration. I think because of his advice I stuck with law school.

Your suggestion about being a legal consultant is very helpful. A career like this would be worth looking into, as law school wouldn't have been a waste in my parents' eyes. As much as I hate my job right now, I don't want to let my family down.

You should be in it field...

jassmine12 wrote:You should be in it field...

I'm sorry I don't understand, jassmine12. What do you mean?

DinobotPrime wrote:

jassmine12 wrote:You should be in it field...

I'm sorry I don't understand, jassmine12. What do you mean?

You’re question is the same as mine DinobotPrime…

DinobotPrime wrote:Hey thanks Rodimus, and you too Counterpunch. Those are good points. I figure I will keep trying my best but also explore other options. I just get too depressed if I picture this being my permanent career.

Does anyone have a job that's fun or interesting? I bet a lot of people here do.

You might look into being a JAG.

godzillabot wrote:

DinobotPrime wrote:

jassmine12 wrote:You should be in it field...

I'm sorry I don't understand, jassmine12. What do you mean?

You’re question is the same as mine DinobotPrime…

I think that it was in reference to your remark earlier about thinking of becoming a physics teacher at one point. I noticed the sign higher up in jassmine12's post and after backtracking up a previous post or two, figured that's what it must have meant.

Of course, it's been a few days and you may have figured it out by now, but hey, it kept me preoccupied for a few minutes which probably makes the rest of the site happy.

Thanks for the input guys.

Sorry I haven't responded but it's been very busy. I am trying to give this a real try but it's difficult. You know when hate something and when it's just not for you. I wouldn't want to be a JAG either Cagey, but thanks for the idea. I know what I want to do, but I just don't think my family would understand. Tomorrow is a new week so I will try my best, but I am still very open to any help. If anyone is bored and actually finds out what a law degree can be used for outside of the practice of law, that would be great haha.

i was a security guard for 8 years and now a cleaner for 8 and yeah i didnt finish highschool due to family problems i went straight in to employment id love to go to colage and into a other job thers just almost none in scotland